Space Voyages canon
The Space Voyages canon '''is the collective name for the seven original titles of the series written by Ben Boatwright between 2002 and 2005. It is primarily used to differentiate these specific works from others in the franchise (such as the YouTube series), any of which could be correctly called '''Space Voyages. The only literary work not in the canon is the unfinished eighth installment, although the YouTube version may eventually include it. Plot summaries 'Galactic Journey' Main article: Book I: Galactic Journey Frank Softey, Jack Mailey, and Courtney Hottihann are three kid astronauts chosen to partake in a joint mission with Sergei Rochavov and Sai Hwong, who purposely crash them off course at liftoff. The trio encounters Galaxian Prime and Darby Strange Cat, the leader of Blarnis, which appears to be a police state under his control. After escaping from a kangaroo court, they meet Thaddeus Cat, cousin of Darby but who is opposed to his evildoings. While onboard his four-story airliner/spaceship, Frank reads about an invincible fighter jet called the Phantasm ''that he believes could be used to fight against Darby. Thaddeus lets them off at Amnesia, the planet known for causing its inhabitants to lose their memory but where the Phantasm is supposedly held. After Jack is put under hypnosis by the Blackrobians, he nearly kills them all before they discover the Phantasm in a cave and cure Jack at the same time. They start the engine successfully and head off to stop Darby. 'Thaddeus and the Time Warp Trio' ''Main article: Book II: Thaddeus and the Time Warp Trio Once out in space, the trio realizes the Phantasm ''is short on fuel, but they are rescued again by Thaddeus. Suddenly they realize they are being pursued by a fleet of Darby's jets. Thaddeus informs them that Darby's evil organization is called the BEFOs – the Blarnis Evil Forces. Thaddeus outruns them and they arrive at his home planet of Jeeog and his residence, The Place. The BEFOs soon catch up, however, and take Thaddeus hostage while the trio escapes in the ''Phantasm. After running through a supernova that they mistake for a time warp, they emerge at Galaxian Prime and dive-bomb Blarnis Capital where they assume Thaddeus is being held. They manage to free him and return him to the ship. Meanwhile, they have discovered a mysterious note telling them to repair the Phantasm ''in an obscure Texas town named Brakey and return it to its original owner, the Red Borkin. After returning Thaddeus to The Place, the trio uses the Galaxian Prime time warp to return to Earth in the late 1800s. There they meet Dr. Payne, a mad scientist who claims to have met the Red Borkin. He gives them a telescope, which they use to observe the time warp as it transforms into a heavenly finger pointing at them. Realizing that they merely needed to use their own intuition to repair the ''Phantasm, they fix it easily and head off to return the plane to the Red Borkin. 'The Return to the Red Borkin' Main article: Book III: The Return to the Red Borkin After passing back through the Galaxian Prime time warp, the trio is elated to see Jeeog nearby and land to retrieve Thaddeus, who did not join them on their journey back to Earth. When they arrive, the Place trolley driver Shortie informs them that Thaddeus has gone to Zarcholon, the home planet of the BEFO Empire. They head out immediately, but on their way they encounter a black hole, causing them to loop back in time to witness their original encounter with Thaddeus from Book I. Thinking they have crashed, the trio awakes to find themselves in the ship of Thaddeus's brother, Stanley Cat. The Phantasm ''is safely in tow. Soon, however, the BEFOs are tailing them once again, and Frank instinctively leaves to pilot the ''Phantasm; meanwhile, Stanley's ship Spartus is destroyed, leading Frank to believe that he along with Jack and Courtney have been ruthlessly killed. Seeing some debris burn up in a nearby planet's atmosphere, Frank searches the surface for any sign of life. Amazingly, he finds the three alive. Now on their way to Zarcholon in the Phantasm, the BEFOs strike again – this time Darby himself latches briefly onto the windshield and manages to shoot Jack. Stanley thinks he may have been trying to capture them in order to take them to Lollygaggeranza, the emperor of Zarcholon. They finally arrive and reunite with Thaddeus, who explains that he had them follow him there so they could go to Pookypod, the only person who knows how to reach the Red Borkin. First, however, they must past directly through the Lollygaggeranzan Chamber, where Jack trips an alarm and is captured by Lollygaggeranza, who reveals himself to be none other than Sergei Rochavov. He and Hwong are cattins who, like Darby and Thaddeus, can in fact change themselves into any physical form they desire; he also says that they attempted to intercept the SILPS mission so that they could find the Phantasm ''before the trio. Jack is released and relates his experience to his comrades. With this knowledge in mind, they set off to find Pookypod. In a rental car, they are nearly swept away by a tornado but happen to fall directly into the Lair of Pookypod by pulling its door handle, disguised as a tree root. Pookypod reveals a completely refurbished ''Phantasm and tells them that they must travel to Absolutely Monstrous, or A.M., in order to find the Red Borkin and return the plane to him. They do so, and for their efforts he allows them to return safely to Earth. With the return of Thaddeus, the trio has also achieved the mission goal of SILPS. 'Voyage to the Empire of Jada' Main article: Book IV: Voyage to the Empire of Jada Russian-language editions In 2013, at the insistence of Amherst College professor Stanley J. Rabinowitz, HSWPT, Inc. announced that it would be republishing the series in Russian as "Космические путешествия: Рассказы русского космонавта" and that various sections would be reviewed by the Russian Ministry of Culture to ensure that descriptions of the Russian cosmonaut Sergei Rochavov were consistent with "the world view of the Russian Federation." Ben Boatwright has not sanctioned these revisions and will be seeking damages against his publisher HSWPT, Inc. The proposed titles for each book in the series are as follows: *''I. Галактическая поездка'' *''II. Фаддей и временно-деформатическая тройка'' *''III. Возвращение к Красному Боркину'' *''IV. Путешествие во джадическую империю'' *''V. Возвращение во Джаду'' *''VI. Дополнительная дела Корнилиуса (Сон Фаддея)'' *''VII. Реклама БЗС'' *''VIII. Месть Нарфо Текис'' *''IX. Боб Сэнделс не позволяет, чтобы тройка ПРЖПШ улетели'' *''X. Фаддей и свой большой самолёт'' *''XI. Фрэнк и Кортни женятся и Джэк очень ревнует'' *''XII. Дополнительная дополнительная дела Корнилиуса'' и т.д.